To work as a pathologist in any of the pathology specialties you need to qualify as a doctor first before going into pathology training. There are several options for a career in pathology. You can work as a pathologist (a doctor who specialises in one of the areas of pathology), a scientist or a laboratory assistant. The different careers require different qualifications.

If you think that a career in pathology might be what you are looking for, talk to the pathologists in your own hospital and find out why they enjoy their work. For further information regarding careers please visit the discover pathology section of our website.  

Entry to substantive training programmes leading to the award of the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) is by open competition and there is no scope for doctors to be ‘placed’ into such programmes by the College.

Doctors in such posts must be aware that they will still be subject to the requirements for GMC registration and (where necessary) a work permit. Due to the type of work permit they are likely to acquire, their stay in the UK will be restricted to a maximum of two years.

The College cannot arrange clinical attachments – these must be arranged individually and are offered solely at the discretion of pathology departments with a capacity to accommodate such an arrangement. Feedback received at the College suggests that attachments are very difficult to locate and arrange. There is a specific category in the immigration rules for these posts. A restriction is being introduced on the amount of leave that can be granted specifically to undertake clinical attachments to six weeks at a time, or six months in total.

You are strongly advised not to move to the UK until you have secured a post. 

 

Doctors who want to practise as substantive, honorary or fixed term consultants in the NHS and have not completed an approved UK training programme must apply for and be entered onto the Specialist Register.

For non EEA applicants we would normally advise applying through the Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) route.

For EEA applicants we would advise that in the first instance you check with the GMC to see if you would be eligible to apply through the Mutual Recognition route. More information can be found on the GMC website. The GMC deals with all applications to this route directly so it is them you would need to liaise with in regards to this.

 

 

Doctors do not need to be registered with the College in order to perform post mortems in the UK. However we advise that you must hold appropriate registration with the GMC.

The Royal College of Pathologists is a professional membership organisation and we do not offer courses or training programmes.

Pathology training in the UK is divided into five main specialties. Each pathology specialty has a curriculum outlining the entry requirements, minimum length of training and requirements for the award of the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT). 

The Royal College of Pathologists oversees training in Chemical Pathology, Histopathology, Medical Microbiology and Medical Virology. The Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB) oversees training in haematology and immunology. Doctors seeking information about these specialties should look at the relevant curriculum:

1. Chemical Pathology
2. Haematology
3. Histopathology
4. Immunology
5. Medical Microbiology and Medical Virology

However, you may be interested in the College's Medical Training Initiative in Pathology - MTI(Path). You can find out more information about this scheme here. 

Forensic pathology is a specialised branch of histopathology and those intending to pursue a career in forensic pathology should first train in histopathology after their foundation training. The Foundation Programme is a two-year generic training programme which forms the bridge between medical school and specialist/general practice training. 

The eligibility requirements for entry to a forensic histopathology training programme are that you need to have satisfactory completed a UK foundation training programme and followed successful completion of Stages A and B of the histopathology training programme including passes in the Year 1 Histopathology OSPE and Part 1 FRCPath examination i.e. at ST3 level. You can find the person specifications and approved curricula for histopathology and the forensic histopathology curricula on the College website.

All doctors must be appropriately registered with the GMC to practise medicine in the UK. Further information on obtaining registration with the GMC can be found here. 

The Royal College of Pathologists sponsors International Medical Graduates (IMGs) in Medical Microbiology, Medical Virology, Chemical Pathology and Histopathology.

There are three routes to GMC registration:

• Professional Linguistics and Assessment Board (PLAB) Examination
• Sponsorship (with exemption from PLAB)
• Postgraduate Qualifications (PGQs)

Further information can be found here on our website. 

Certificates of good standing
Doctors applying for GMC registration should read the information below about Certificates of Good Standing:

Please also refer to the Sponsorship Booklet of Information below:

 

International medical graduates wishing to train in the UK are currently required to obtain registration with the GMC. There are three main routes to registration:

1. Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB)
2. Sponsorship (please note this route is also for doctors applying for the MTI in Pathology)
3. Postgraduate Qualifications

Further information on these routes can be found here on our website. 

Doctors are required to hold GMC registration to work in an ‘approved practice setting.' Information on this aspect of the registration framework can be found on the GMC approved practice settings page.

 

All doctors must be appropriately registered with the GMC to practise medicine in the UK.  Information about registration and work permits can be obtained on the GMC website. 

Doctors who want to practise as substantive, honorary or fixed term consultants in the NHS and have not completed an approved training programme must apply for entry onto the Specialist Register.  

We advise all applicants to contact the College's Training Department prior to submitting an application to GMC so that we can advise you further with regards to evidence etc. 

All Doctors who want to practise as substantive, honorary or fixed term consultants in the NHS must apply for entry onto the Specialist Register. We also inform doctors who wish to practice as locum consultants that it is advisable to be on the specialist register to take up a locum consultant post and that they need to check with the trust to see what their requirements are.

We normally advise EU doctors who are not on the specialist register to check with the GMC to see if they would be eligible to apply through the Mutual Recognition route.  The link with further information on this route is available here.

The GMC deals with all applications to this route directly so it is them you would need to liaise with in regards to this. There is no separate requirement to be registered with the College for this route.

 

The MTI was launched by the Department of Health in 2009 and is designed to allow medical graduates to come to the UK to undertake clinical training in the NHS for a maximum of 24 months before returning to their home country, providing they have the support of the relevant Royal College. The MTI operates under the Government Authorised Exchange (GAE), sub category of the Tier 5 visa category.

The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) will act as the ‘professional sponsor’ through the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) who is the overarching visa sponsor and is responsible for issuing the Tier 5 Certificate of Sponsorship, which enables an applicant to apply for their Tier 5 visa. The Certificate of Sponsorship will only be issued if the application is supported by the RCPath. The Tier 5 visa is issued for a maximum 2 year period.

The College offers two routes to gaining sponsorship through its MTI(Path) scheme: MTI(Path) College and MTI(Path) Trust.

• The MTI(Path) College route is for those who haven’t been offered a placement but would like to undertake clinical training in the NHS for a maximum of 24 months before returning to their home country.
• The MTI(Path) Trust route is for those applicants who have themselves secured a suitable placement within an NHS Trust in the UK.

The Royal College of Pathologists offers sponsorship to Trainees in the following specialties;

• Chemical Pathology
• Histopathology
• Diagnostic Neuropathology
• Forensic Histopathology
• Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology
• Medical Microbiology
• Medical Virology
• Haematology

The Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB) oversees training in immunology. Further information on their MTI scheme can be found on the JRCPTB website. 
 

 

The College has created a range of resources to help you understand the process of gaining sponsorship through the MTI(path) College and MTI(path) Trust routes.

Please find below resources from our recent webinars:

 

You can check your eligibility for this scheme by completing and returning the pre-application questions listed in the eligibility check below to our MTI Officer.

 

Whilst it is not an essential eligibility requirement of the MTI(path) scheme, applicants who have taken and successfully passed the FRCPath Part I examination in their chosen specialty will be favourably considered.

If your application is successful, thos candidates who have passed the FRCPath Part I examinations in their chosen specialty are expected to sit the Part II examinations during their period of training in the UK.

 

Applications for the MTI(path) College route and Trust route are open all year around. List of the existing posts for the College route is available on the website. 

 

If you wish to receive regular updates for when the scheme opens, then please sign up to our mailing list or read our latest edition here. 

The application pack for 2016 can be found below:

Please note that applications for the MTI(Path) College scheme 2016 will open on Friday 15 July 2016 (at 17:00 BST) and will close on Friday 12 August (at 23:59 BST). The list of available placements that the international trainees can apply for will also be published on Friday 15 July 2016 (at 17:00 BST).

To be considered for the MTI(Path) scheme, you will need to complete and return the following by Friday 12 August (at 23:59 BST): 

1. Completed application Form

2. Eligibility Checklist

3. CV Template

4. Equality and diversity monitoring form

5. Supporting documentation detailed in the Supporting documentation list

 

Please note that applications through our MTI(Path) Trust route are open all year round. 

 

 

In order to process your application, you are required to pay a non-refundable administration fee of £75 using the College’s online payment system. The College accepts payment by credit/debit card (excluding American Express) and you will automatically receive a receipt for your payment from [email protected]. Unfortunately until payment is received, we are unable to process your application.

Once payment is received your application will be assessed for its suitability for the MTI(path) scheme.

Should your application be successful, an additional fee of £740 will be charged by RCPath to cover your enrolment with the College as a Trainee and access to the College’s e-portfolio and assessment systems for the first year. In year 2 (if applicable) this fee will be £450.

Please note that failure to reconcile payment by the given deadline may result in you no longer being in good standing with the College and consequently not eligible to sit the FRCPath exams. Your employing Trust will be notified and your access to the College’s e-portfolio and assessment systems will also cease immediately.

All applicants are required to provide a range of evidence in support of their application. An extensive list of those required is outlined in the document below:

Obtaining this information can take several months and we strongly advise applicants to begin gathering this evidence now.

Pre-registration verification of qualifications

From 11 June 2018, all applicants seeking registration with a licence to practise will be required to have their primary medical qualification independently verified before being granted registration, if they:

• Qualified at a medical school outside of the UK, EEA or Switzerland OR

• Are a national of a country outside the UK, EEA or Switzerland who graduated from a medical school outside the UK AND

• Do not already hold provisional registration with a licence to practice.

Verification will be carried out by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) through their online system, Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials (EPIC) service. Please visit the GMC website for detailed information on the process. 

We have a limited number of paid/funded placements available on the MTI(path) scheme and the College is currently developing a database of placements for 2016. Candidates who are eligible for the scheme will be matched to available posts.

Posts will be offered at a 'middle grade' level, equivalent in standard to Level 2 (ST2) of the UK ST training curricula. After a period of three to six months induction at a more junior level, it is expected that Trainees will progress sufficiently to spend the remaining 18-21 months working at a more senior level (ST3-ST4). The salary that you will receive is in line with Trainees who are working at a similar level in the UK, or at least £23,000 p.a. (subject to change). Some hospitals take prior international experience into account and some do not. This is at the discretion of the hospital and not by RCPath. 

As not all the placements on the MTI(Path) scheme are paid, some Trainees choose to obtain funding (e.g. a scholarship) from their respective hospitals/institutiona/governments. Unfortunately we are unable to sponsor self-funded applicants (those who choose to support themselves using their own personal funds) as this does not satisfy the requirements for the Tier 5 visa. We find that a lot of trainees have been able to source placements through connections their educational supervisor and colleagues have in the UK. 

Each year Health Education England (HEE) decides how many funded posts will be offered in each specialty. Legally, these posts must be advertised to UK trainees first. Posts which are unfilled across all specialties (pathology, paediatrics, surgery etc) are then advertised to overseas applicants. Some trusts use the Medical Training Initiative scheme to advertise paid vacant posts that they have been unable to recruit for. However, trusts can create additional unfunded training posts for overseas doctors who have their own funding from an official body (e.g. from their home government, university or employer). Please note that the College continues to advocate and lobby for paid training posts. 

If you wish to pursue an unfunded post, you will need to have funding from an official body, for example your home government, university or employer. We appreciate that it can be difficult for some overseas trainees to obtain funding. We recommend that you speak to your educational supervisor who may have personal contacts in the UK. You can also contact the College's Country Advisor for your region who may be able to help you identify where you can get funding. 

In order to be eligible for the scheme you must have successfully obtained a Primary Medical Qualification (PMQ) that is recognised by the General Medical Council (GMC). A list of acceptable PMQ's can be found on the GMC website.  

Pre-registration verification of qualifications

From 11 June 2018, all applicants seeking registration with a licence to practise will be required to have their primary medical qualification independently verified before being granted registration, if they:

• Qualified at a medical school outside of the UK, EEA or Switzerland OR
• Are a national of a country outside the UK, EEA or Switzerland who graduated from a medical school outside the UK AND
• Do not already hold provisional registration with a licence to practice.

Verification will be carried out by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) through their online system, Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials (EPIC) service. Please visit the GMC website for detailed information on the process.

You do not need to pass PLAB to apply for the MTI(Path) scheme. Instead, you must successfully obtain an overall score of 7.5 on the International English Language Test System (IELTS) test. For your score to be accepted, you must also obtain a score of at least 7.0 in each testing area (speaking, listening, reading and writing). Full details of the scheme's eligibility requirements can be found on the College website.

In order to be eligible for the MTI(Path) scheme you must successfully complete the British Council Academic International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test  OR Occupational English Test (OET). 

International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

For us to accept your IELTS certificate it must show that you:

• Obtained a score of at least 7.0 in each testing area (speaking, listening, reading and writing), and an overall score of 7.5;
• The certificate must have the original stamp and test report form (TRF) number
• Obtained these scores in the same test; and
• Took the academic version of the test.

IELTS certificates are valid for two years and if your MTI(path) application is successful, it must be valid when the General Medical Council (GMC) approves your application for registration with a license to practice.

Occupational English Test (OET)

You need to have taken the medicine version of the test with at least grade ‘B’ in each testing area (speaking, listening, reading and writing). The grades should been obtained in the same test. The test is valid for 2 years. The certificate must have your candidate number.

 

Unfortunately, the MTI(Path) is only available to overseas trainees who reside outside the European Economic Area (EEA). The scheme is designed to allow overseas trainees to undertake pathological training in their specialty in the UK for up to maximum of 24 months under the Government Authorised Exchange (GAE) - sub category of the Tier 5 visa. Overseas trainees must return to their home country after 24 months. Full details of the scheme's eligibility requirements can be found here on our website. 

Yes. As part of your enrollment on the MTI(Path) scheme, you will be given access to the College's Learning Environment for Pathology Trainees (LEPT) system. This system allows you to collect evidence and record your training whilst in the UK. This evidence can contribute to your Certificate of Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) application. 

It may be possible to complete training in more than one specialty, however this would require agreement from the trust(s). If you are thinking of doing this, please provide details in your MTI(Path) application.

• A valuable opportunity for UK trusts to learn from their international colleagues and share knowledge and experiences.
• The scheme provides enthusiastic and well qualified trainees that have been endorsed by RCPath.
• Trainees contribute a wide range of skills and teaching expertise to UK trusts, and provide cost-saving alternatives to locums.
• Trusts can cultivate strong personal ties between UK consultants and foreign institutions/trainees.
• The MTI can help you find candidates to help fill posts in medical specialties that are undersubscribed. You will have a capable foreign postgraduate doctor, whilst also providing a training placement for a doctor who might not otherwise be afforded the same opportunity in their home country.

Trusts can request an application pack by emailing the College’s MTI Officer. 

To be considered for the MTI(Path) scheme, your Trust will need to complete and return the placement details form along with a full job description and timetable. The placement details form asks for basic details on the post and will not be accepted if some sections are incomplete.

Please note that failure to return the completed form and required documentation by the specified deadline may result in your Trust’s application being rejected. If you have already sourced a Trainee for a post, then unfortunately we are unable to proceed any further with their application to the MTI(Path) scheme.

Since April 2006 the category of ‘permit free training’ has been abolished for international medical graduates. All doctors wishing to work in the UK from outside the European Union who are not in some way exempt from the work permit requirements will need to obtain a work permit in order to take up a postgraduate medical training post.

The change means that any NHS hospital or trust wishing to employ a doctor needing a work permit will have to prove that an eligible UK or European Union doctor could not fill the vacant post.

Some international medical graduates may be exempt from the work permit system, for example by virtue of marriage, but where a doctor is not exempt a work permit will be necessary.

Work permits are a very complex area of law and the College is not well placed to provide detailed advice in this area.

Further information is available on the College Website but all doctors are strongly advised to seek advice from the UK Visas and Immigration service.

No. The College’s role is to uphold standards in pathology and work permits are an employment matter. The College cannot arrange a work permit and personnel departments in hospitals and trusts are the contact point for work permit issues.

You are eligible to enter for the FRCPath examination if you are deemed ready to sit the examination by your Educational Supervisor or equivalent and are either in a recognised training programme or have fulfilled the recommended training requirements. Please note that the College does not have a list of recognised training programmes/centres. If you are unsure about applying for an exam please read the relevant curriculum for UK trainees.The exam is written in line with UK training so the curriculum will give you an idea of what is tested. Further information on examination regulations and guidelines are available on the College website.

If you would like to apply for the exam, please visit the Examinations page. 

 

Details of all our international examination centres can be found in the Examinations Regulations and Guidelines. Please note that these are mainly for candidates sitting the Part I examinations.

The written exam lasts six hours and is held from 09:30 (GMT or British Summer Time) to 12:30 and from 13:30 to 16:30. The multiple-choice-question (MCQ) and extended-matching question (EMQ) exams last three hours and are held in the afternoon only, from 13:30 to 16:30. The written exams will take place at overlapping times at international examination centres. 

Candidates who are not from the UK do not have to sit the MRCP. However, if you wish to practice in the UK you will have to pass this. 

In general, candidates who do not have a medical degree take the clinical scientist examination.

Affiliate membership is open to those working within pathology who wish to be linked with the activities of the College. Examples of those who may wish to affiliate include: clinical scientists, research academics, biomedical scientists, and members of specialist societies. This list is not exhaustive; others working in a pathology discipline may wish to affiliate, and will be welcome to do so, including overseas-qualified pathologists working in the UK.

Please visit the membership section of our website for further information regarding the College’s other categories of membership.